Birth Weight and Adult-Onset Hearing Loss.
Shruti Gupta, Molin Wang, Biling Hong and 2 others
PMID 31996588WHAT IT FOUND
Women born under 5.5 pounds were more likely to report adult-onset moderate or greater hearing loss than women born 7 to under 8.5 pounds.
Being born after 42 weeks of pregnancy also had higher likelihood.
Key findings
01Birth weight under 5.5 pounds was associated with a higher adjusted risk of adult-onset moderate or greater hearing loss compared with birth weight 7 to under 8.5 pounds, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.14.
02Gestational age at birth of 42 weeks or more was associated with a higher adjusted risk of adult-onset moderate or greater hearing loss compared with 38 to under 42 weeks, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.33.
03The birth weight association did not differ by preterm birth or by age under 60 versus 60 or older.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The main hearing outcome was self-reported, not measured by audiometry. The cohort was mostly non-Hispanic white women, which may limit generalizability. The study could not examine small for gestational age or intrauterine growth retardation. The gestational age analysis was limited to NHS II participants whose mothers completed questionnaires.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that low birth weight or post-term birth caused adult-onset hearing loss. This cohort study reports associations using self-reported hearing loss, and it did not test whether changing birth weight or gestational age changes hearing.